Chelsea Handler is the master of stone faced sarcasm and dry wit. She will toss a humorous quip out, disguise it as the truth, then wait until you start laughing before
confessing to the joke. Chelsea doesn’t beg forgiveness or waver over her remarks. She doesn’t need to. Chelsea is able to segue through her comedic bits, confident and knowing who she is. She doesn’t particularly care whether you do or not.

Chelsea Handler is a Jewish girl that is high spirited with a good heart. She grew up in suburban New Jersey before moving to Los Angeles in search of adventure and having vague hopes of having a career in show business. She ended up with both of those things in spades.

E! Network fans got their first look at Chelsea Handler when she appeared on the “101 Series” on E! (for example “101 Best Celebrity Makeovers” and “101 Worst Celebrity Breakups”), where she would always offer ironic and delicious comments on any celebrity scandal that anyone would ask her about. When you do ask Chelsea Handler what her opinion is you need to take some deep breaths. Nine out of ten times she will knock you off balance.

With Chelsea Lately, her talk show, Chelsea Handler is now in top form. She can combine her improvisation talents along with politically incorrect comedy and telling
the truth the way nobody else can.

PR.com: I was watching In The Motherhood, your online series with Leah Remini and Jenny McCarthy on MSN.com. I just happened to find it, so I watched three of episodes in a row. They were so hilarious! Can you tell us how the online came about?

Chelsea Handler: Last year I did our first season. Leah called to ask me if I would like to play in the role of a mother along with her. Of course, I said. It was a lot
of fun. This year Jenny McCarthy was added to the cast. All three of us have been having a great time. The work is really easy. I just put aside a few weekends to do it. For young moms it’s great, or any mom.

PR.com: From doing the show, what are your thoughts on motherhood?

Chelsea Handler: I think that my tubes just tied themselves up.

PR.com: Yes, it’s kind of scary.

Chelsea Handler: I really don’t think I will be having babies after this.

PR.com: For Chelsea Lately, your E! show, when do you shoot each episode? Are each evening’s shows shot that afternoon or more in advance than that?

Chelsea Handler: yes, every day we shoot at about 3:30. Then they air at night.

PR.com: Are you relieved about the writer’s strike being over?

Chelsea Handler: well the strike didn’t affect our show because it’s non-union. We were fine. Of course, yeah, I am happy the strike has ended so all those people have jobs again.

PR.com: For talk shows such as yours or other late night talk shows, why are writers so important even though a comedian is there? For example, you’re a comedienne. You are used to performing your own material. So wouldn’t the talk show format be a great place for writing your own material and performing it?

Chelsea Handler: well our show’s set up somewhat differently than those other shows. On my part it’s a lot more improvisational. Obviously in an interview you don’t know ahead of time what somebody will say. Then with the round table discussions other people are involved. It’s not only me. The job is more of a writer and producer. All of us come together every morning. We discuss what topics we are going to be talking about. We go over who got arrested, who got DUIs, who did this, if it’s something even worth talking about. Like when someone is going to rehab for their first time, then I don’t think that’s something that should be laughed about. If it’s their third time, absolutely then. Let’s start to make fun of them. So that’s our policy kind of. It’s not that a lot is written while we’re in the room there. It’s more based on ideas. The field pieces we do have more writing that is involved and are brainstormed. Like if Chuy and I are going skydiving or trampolining. Since the show is so fast and short, it’s really more of me coming up with ideas by myself. Those other shows (i.e. Tonight Show) are different due to their long monologues. It takes lots of people to be able to fill that type of space up.

PR.com: How did you find your assistant Chuy? He isn’t exactly a conventional looking sidekick for a talk show.

Chelsea Handler: I found him at ChocolateSingles.com. Yes, that’s where I found him.

PR.com: Seriously?

Chelsea Handler: (laughing) No.

PR.com: Well in the first book of yours you did mention that website.

Chelsea Handler: Yeah, I know. That’s one thing that is a favorite of mine to mention. For the first show of mine, I needed to hire an assistant. I said get a little person for me. I love the little people. They brought in Chuy to do an interview series along with a whole group of other people for being potential
assistants for me. Obviously, I loved him. On the spot I hired him. Especially when I found out he can’t spell or add. I usually look for that in an assistant for me.

PR.com: what’s this little people fetish of yours all about?

Chelsea Handler: I just think that they’re really cute. But I like fat one. Not skinny ones. They are like oompa loompas I think. I just love them.

PR.com: Does Chuy know about the joke? That part of what’s so funny is that fact that he is your sidekick? Is he in on it?

Chelsea Handler: Yeah, he definitely gets it. Every day when I molest Chuy he gets it.

PR:com: Tabloid journalism, let’s talk about that. I know you read the tabloids just the way I do. You need to see what’s happening for your show. Now I do buy the US Weekly. It is beginning to bug me though, a little bit now that things seem to be getting so completely out of hand with TMZ.com and sites like that. What are your thoughts on tabloid journalism and the paparazzi, the ethics of it all?

Chelsea Handler: It’s pretty bad I think. It’s disgusting kind of. However, the only way for me to do my show while still having a sense of humor towards it is knowing we make fun of all the things that everybody takes so seriously, you know. If we aren’t able to laugh at ourselves over all the attention being paid to the celebrities, what goes on every day, we really will then be in a very bad state of affairs. Just walking down the aisle at the supermarket there are fifteen magazines to buy. It’s gross, really. It’s mind pollution. That’s the biggest thing when I was starting to do the show. When they said they wanted a show for five nights every week that was timely on all the entertainment news. So I said I could do that, but only if I was able to make fun of all the things we care about so much. It’s so stupid. They said, yeah absolutely. They thought it was a really great take on things. So many shows you watch they seriously report Lindsay Lohan shaving her legs today.

PR.com: I’m not sure if anyone’s made this connection. I’m not sure what you’ll think of it. But after 9/11 didn’t the tabloid culture grow ten fold?

Chelsea Handler: Oh yes, absolutely. That’s right.

PR.com: I thought maybe it was some kind of escapism everyone was craving after that happened. Before 9/11 happened there was always The Enquirer and Star Magazine. Then after 9/11 happened US Weekly became a tabloid. Then other ones started to pop. Things just started to get out of control. There’s a connection, I think.

Chelsea Handler: Yeah, I’ve heard things like that before. That’s absolutely right I think. When there’s a national tragedy is when people feel like burying their heads in the sand. No one wants to think about things. People can only take so much. Like the elections. There is only so much you can really listen to with all that red tape. And it goes on forever. When 9/11 happened it was so devastating. It made you want to turn and watch a cartoon. It was like, I need to laugh now, ok. I need to think about something light. That’s something I totally can understand. There’s probably a direct connection to why things have gotten this out of control.

PR.com: For emotional and mental health, comedy can be pretty important. If need that outlet in the world.

Chelsea Handler: I really like laughing. I love everyday going to work to make fun of situations that are stupid. It brings me a lot of joy. People who have a great sense of humor when it comes to themselves, those are the people that you always don’t go after. That’s a very interesting dynamic I think.

PR.com: The format from your original E! Show, what happened to that? How did Chelsea Lately get morphed from the old show The Chelsea Handler Show?

Chelsea Handler: E! Network wanted to have elements from that show. However they wanted to have something where we could provide entertainment news as well as a comedy show also where we could talk about current day stuff. With the old show with all of the field segments it made it impossible for doing that on some sort of daily basis. We kept parts I liked from the old show and made it into a daily show. The show now is easier to do. It’s also has a lot faster pace.

PR.com: Is the new show, Chelsea Lately creatively more what you like to do than the old show?

Chelsea Handler: The other show I did have a great time doing it. However the new show is a lot more me. I can be myself on this show.

PR.com: Why did you decide to open up your life and be so candid about everything in “My Horizontal Life,” your first book? Last night I read it. It was hysterical. I just couldn’t believe though how candid you decided to be. What was the reason you decided putting everything out there, about using drugs, drinking and your sex life?

Chelsea Handler: I just felt it wasn’t a big deal really once you bury the lead. It’s important I think to be honest in terms of who you are. I think it’s better being honest than dishonest. So many girls lie. They say things like I wouldn’t ever do that. They say on my first date I wouldn’t ever sleep with a man. Come to find out they’ve slept with the whole baseball team. I mean just be honest about things. It’s really not a big deal. All it is about is having fun and having sex in your twenties. The reason I wrote it was because I was sick and tired of people pretending always that they don’t do these things. There’s lots of girls I’m sure who aren’t like I was while in my twenties that is in the book. I think though if you have some kind of sense of humor in terms of yourself that it’s a lot more engaging and endearing than someone who isn’t. All I did was hope for the best and put it out there.

PR.com: I just you don’t have any skeletons in the closet anyway!

Chelsea Handler: Yes, that’s right. No one ever can say to me, hey you never told me that. Um, yes I did. It’s all there.

PR.com (laughing): What is this love affair you have with vodka? The second book of your is “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.” Tell me what is so great in terms of vodka. Every cocktail mentioned in the book had some vodka in the drink.

Chelsea Handler: Vodka, I love it. Vodka and I have a very good relationship together. He has never once let me down. I haven’t ever let him down either. It won’t make you sick. With different alcohols I did have some bad experiences when I was young. Vodka’s a smooth, nice drink. Beer I don’t like. It’s too heavy for me. Vodka also has the least sugar. It’s a healthy treat also. (Laughter)

PR.com: That was a very good sales pitch. In your book you talked about how you don’t trust people that don’t drink. That’s me. (laughter) I am just a teetotaler. When it comes to alcohol I don’t like it. Just don’t like how it tastes. It doesn’t do anything for me really.

Chelsea Handler: Non-alcoholic stuff, I hate how it tastes. I don’t understand people drinking non-alcoholic beer? What’s the point of drinking non-alcoholic beer? Definitely alcohol is an acquired taste. If you are going to drink it, drink it for a good reason. (laughter). I do like how vodka tastes, but it took awhile. It wasn’t something I liked first thing.

PR.com: You probably, by the way, are the only person ever to have done drugs with their gynecologist. (The anecdote is chronicled in “My Horizontal Life,” Handler’s first book).

Chelsea Handler: Probably, yeah. That does sound about right. Once you write your book though, you’ll find out there’s lots of things that you’re not the only one to have done. Lots of people will come out of their closet. They say, oh gosh, you know I did that exact same thing. It does happen.

PR.com: After you book came out did you get crazy fan mail or emails?

Chelsea Handler: Of course. I still do. Lots of people all the time come up and say to me, I read the book. You know I did those exact same things. My story’s even crazier than your is. Let me tell you my story.

PR.com: Are there any celebrities that are pissed off, you know because of how candid you are on your show. When you tell people the way it is? Have you heard of anyone want to kick your ass who is out there?

Chelsea Handler: Publicists sometimes will call to tell us, she’s making fun of one of our clients. Yeah, it does happen. Larry Birkhead (father of Dannielynn, daughter of Anna Nicole Smith) called and demanded that we apologize for making fun of Dannielynn. I said, we weren’t making fun of Dannielynn. What we were doing was making fun of you because you are parading her around and being such a ridiculous parent. There’s a big difference there. On the show I announced it. Hopefully we won’t hear anything from him ever again. So yeah, things happen.

PR.com: (laughter)

Chelsea Handler: You know I do try really hard to not be outright mean. I’m sure sometimes I am. If I make fun that Lance Armstrong has one unit, you know I don’t see how I could be the first one doing that. I don’t see why he would get upset over something like that.

PR.com: So who are the people you think deserve being targets?

Chelsea Handler: Britney, Lindsay, Paris. Except with Britney now it’s getting pretty sad, that story. Anymore it’s like don’t even bother. You are just hoping she will get better. Paris is pretty stupid. Lindsay too. Paris always is saying things you just have to say something about. She always sounds like an idiot. The story about Eddie Murphy and his wife I just love. The story was such a juicy one. There are lots of skeletons in the closet for him. You can just tell.

PR.com: So what’s happening with Ted Harbert? (E! Network’s CEO). When did you two start to date? How’s your relationship?

Chelsea Handler: Oh is it Valentine’s Day today? I need to get a card for him or something. We’ve dated for a year and a half. When it comes to dates he’s better than me. We are living together. We’re good. Probably we’ll date for quite a long time. He’s very sweet and does lots of things for me. I don’t think I could date anyone else. I don’t really know of anyone else who would be as nice to me as he is.

PR.com: So how did he go about approaching you? You were working at E! already.

Chelsea Handler: well we did already know each other because of the show. Back then I really didn’t know him all that well. He would be around sometimes. He’s the network’s president, so really you don’t get to know him. It’s like, here the president comes. Try to not say the wrong thing. At the wrap party for our first show was when he asked if I wanted to sometime go out for a drink. I asked him, with who. He said, with me. So I thought, ok I guess he is flirting with me. I probably laughed then. I got really nervous and was acting like I was in third grade. We ended up going out for a drink. Ever since I think we’ve been drinking together. (laughter)

PR.com: Do people at the E! offices get intimidated by you, knowing you’re the girlfriend of the boss?

Chelsea Handler: Luckily, that’s not where I work. I don’t know what they think. Some people I’m sure hate that. Whatever. Really I don’t concern myself with things like that. I wouldn’t ever behave like that and it’s totally not the kind of person I am.

PR.com: So what about this phenomenon of people being famous for being someone famous?

Chelsea Handler: I think it’s really gross. It’s like a type of double edge sword. Look at Paris Hilton. Being famous is why she is famous. She tries proving she can do other things that she can’t. Her movie sucks, her perfumes are terrible, the shoe business of hers is stupid. So it’s like, just go back to what you were before. Being famous for absolutely nothing. Because then people will attack her because she doesn’t do anything. The people who don’t really want to be someone famous are a lot more interesting. Those people I find are a lot more dynamic and compelling.

PR.com: What about “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” your new book coming out. Tell me about that.

Chelsea Handler: The book is a bunch of childhood true stories. There’s more in there about my childhood and family than there was in my first book. There aren’t any of my one night stands in there really. There’s a few dating stories in there that are funny. One is about dating someone with red hair. You shouldn’t do that obviously unless you don’t start to get nauseous whenever you see red pubic hair. Another story talks about how I opened up a babysitting ring of my own at the age of twelve. I had five older siblings, so my parents couldn’t save any money for my college. I decided I would open a babysitting ring up at the age of twelve. I wound up babysitting fourteen and fifteen year old kids.